Anticreeper for rails.



E. W. VOGEL.

ANTICREEPER FORJRAILS.

momma men JAN. 9. 1915.

' Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

Lam

EUGENE w. voenL, or omcaeo, rumors, nssrenon TO ornoaoo RAILWAY SUPPLY. (30., A CQRlORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ANTICREEPEB FOB RAILS.

meager.

To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE W. VOGEL, 2i citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook' and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and' useful Improvements in Anticreepers for lawn.

- My invention relatesin general to means for preventing the creeping or longitudinal movement of railroad rails, and more par ticularly to improvements in devices known as anti-creepers, or rail anchors.

It is well known that the passage of trains over railway tracks tends to shift the rails longitudinally in the direction of the movementof the trains. When the trains run in opposite directions on thesame tracks the tendency of the rails tocreep in one direction is compensated by their tendency to creep in the opposite direction, but when the Rails, of which the following is a specificatrains run-only in one direction, as is the case with double track roads, the creeping or shifting of the rails is so considerable to be dangerous unless prevented. Anti-creepers are primarily for use on double track railroads, in which their principal function is-to prevent creeping in one direction only. It however lrequentlyhappens that there is suflicien trallic even on double track roads in a direction opposite to the normal trallic to produce a creeping in a reverse direction to that'resistedby the anti-creepers. Such reverse creeping, as well as the contracting oi? the rails in cold weather, tends to disengage the anti-creepers from their locked relation between the rails and adjacent tie, so that when traliic is resumed in the normal,direction the anti creepers are ineliective to prevent creeping. It is therefore desirable that an anti-creeper should be so constructed, and have such an engagement with the rail, that it will prevent creeping in the normal direction after the rail has crept in a direction reverse to that oi the normal, or after contraction of the rail has ocdurred.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an anti-creeper, or rail anchor, which when applied will'cfi'cctively resi t the creeping tendency of the rails; and which will be simple in construction, inexpensive in manufacture, and durable in use.

A further object of my. invention is to Specificatlonof Letters Patent.

direction,

. provide a rail anchor the effectiveness of prevent creeping of a rail 1n one which to direction will not be impaired by the creeping of the rail in a reverse direction, but

which during the creeping of the rail in the reverse direction will remain in such rela-' ently grip a rail transversely of its base, so

that any tendency of the gripping portion of the'rail to creep toward an adjacent tie will oscillate the anchor about its fulcrum s enna a Patented Jan. a, laid. Application filed January 9, 1915. Serial No. @379.

against the tiev and cause the anchor to rigidly grip the rail and toward the tie. I

A still further object of my invention is to provide a rail anchor formed of a single piece of plate metal, such heat-treated steel, which will under all conditions rigidly look a rail against creeping toward an ad- I Jacent tie.

My invcntion will be more fully disclosed hereinafter with reference to. the accoin 'panying drawings, -in which the same is illustrated as embodied in a convenient and practical form, and, in which- Figure l is a'perspective view of my improved anchor in position upon a rail. 2 is a side elevational view, the portions of the rail, tie, and ballast adjacent the anticreeper being shown; and Fig. 3 is a, View similar to Fig. 2 showing the position of the anchoratter the rail has crept in a reverse direction either by tralic in the opposite or by contraction of the rail.

-Sin'iilar reference characters are used to designate similar parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Reference letter A. indicates .a railroad rail, and ii the base thereof. I

C is a tie upon which the rail is supported.

l) indicates the ballast in which the ties V are embedded.

ll designates my improved rail anchor which is preferablymade of a single piece of plate metal, such for instance as heattreatcd steel.

e designates the lower portion of the anticreeper, which is preferably convex toward the adjacent tie so that the tie will not he Fig.

prevent its movement member F. which engages the under-surface The member F iii-- tie C.

injured by the forcible engagement therewith of the anti-creeper.

Projecting upwardly from the tie-abutting portion e is a ofthe ,base of the rail. clines upwardly away from the ad acent G and G designate a pair of members projecting upwardly from the tie-abutting portion e, the members of such'pair being spaced apart so that the base B of the rail may be received between them. The members G and-G are provided with, inwardly extending lugs HR and H at their upper ends which overlie the upper surface of the rail base adjacent the side edges thereof.

The inner surfaces of the members G and G immediately below the lugs H and H;

2 that the members G and G slightly incline upwardly away from the adjacent tie C,not however to the same extent as. does the central member F.

The manner of'applying and the operation of my improved rail anchor are as follows: The device is placed in a substantially horizontal positiom below the rail base adjacent a tie, the ballast being removed suiiicientlv for this purpose. The device is then moved laterally, so that one of the projecta positionsubstantially as indicated in Fig.

of the rail base.

ing lugs H or H overlies the adjacent side The space between the lower portions of the inner surfaces of the members G and G? is sufiicientlv wide so that after one of the lugs H or H has been engaged. with the adjacent side of the rail base, the anchor may be moved relatively to the rail base in a direction to permit the other inwardly projecting lug H or H to overlie the adjacent side oi. the rail base.

The anchor is then oscillated so as to assume 3 in which the members G and G? have been drawn downwardly relative to the rail base into such position that the portions h and k on the inner .edges of the members G and G will. resiliently grip the baseof the rail in a transverse direction. The anchor is then driven toward the adjacent tie until the tie-abutting member 6 rests against the vertical surface of the tie and serves as a fulcrum about which the anchor is oscillated toward the tie a sufiicient distance for the upper edge of the central member F to tightly press against the under-surface of the rail base.

Any tendrncy of the rail to creep toward the tie C imparina corresponding tendency to rock the anchor about its fulcrum against the tie. Such tendency oi" the anchor to rock causes the upper edge of the central.- member i to more tightly gri the under.

surface ofthe railbase. and the lower edges of the lugs H. and H to be forceddown wardly into tighter gripping engagement with the upper surfaces adjacent the sides or th rail base. Any tendency, therefore, of the rail to creep toward the tie results in the anchor being more tightly clamped a] the rail base, and hence more forcibly resists the movement of the rail toward the tie. The gripping engagement otthe anchor with the rail base 18 increased by reason of the inclination of the central member Faway from the tie, so that the plane of. the upper edge of such central member will be at an angle to the plane of the linden surface of the base, and hence an angular edge on the central member F is forced against the under-surface of the rail base. The inclination of the pair of members G and G away fromthe tie also results in the lower surfaces of the lugs H and H presen 'ng angular edges to the surfaces of the rail basewhich they engage. The resilient gripping of the rail base transversely by reason of the distance between the portions in and if on the inner surfaces of the members G and G being spaced-apart a di tance slightly less than the transverse width of the rail base, insures the oscillation of the anchor toward the tie when the rail tends to creep in that direction.

After the anchor has been properly adjusted to the rail base and the tie, the ballast I) is then packed around the same, and prevents the movement of the anchor away from the tie should the rail tend to creep in a reverse direction, either through contrac tion or through traiiic in a direction opposite to the normal. lhe transverse resilient gripping of the rail between the members G and G results in the anchor slightly rocking about its fulcrum upon the tie, and becoming slightly more inclined than normal away from the tie. as indicated in Fig. 3f

3. Such oscillation of the anchor releases the gripping of the base between the upper edge of the central member F and the lower edges of the lugs H and H so that the rail may move relatively to the anchor in a di rection away from the tie, the embedding the anchor in the ballast being suiiicient to overcome the resilient engagement of the members G and G the rail base.

with the side edges o f immediately upon the rail f.

creeping in its normal. direction, due to the resumption of traiiic in the normal direction, or to the expansion oi the rail, the resilient transverse gripping of therail base insures the anchor being oscillated toward the tie I to the position shown in Fig- 2 in which the central member F and the upper edge of the lower edges of the lugs H and H are Wardly projecting lugs overlying the railagain brought into tightly gripping engagetion herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that I do not intend to be limited thereto, as I contemplate changes in form, the proportion of parts, and the substitution of equivalents as occasion may require, or as may be deemed expedient.

I claim 1. A rail anchor comprising a member to engage a tie, a pair of members to resiliently grip in a transverse direction the opposite sides of the base of a rail and having into engage the undersnrface of the rail base at a point farther from the engaged tie than the engagement of said lugs with the rail base.

2. A rail anchor formed of a single piece of plate metal and comprising a pair of transversely resilient members to engage the opposite sides of a rail base, a tie-abutting member, and under-surface of the rail base at a point base, and a member a central member engaging the farther from the tie than the engagement ofsaid pair of members with therail base.

3. An integral rail anchor formed of a single piece of plate metal and comprising a tie-abutting member, a pair ofspaced members directly secured to and projecting upwardly from the opposite ends of said tie-abutting member to extend around the opposite side edges of the rail base, and a. central member projecting upwardly from said tie-abutting member and directly secured thereto intermediate of the connections therewith of the members ofsaid .pair

to engage the undersurface of the rail base at a point farthertromthe tie than the engagement of said pair of me'mberswith the rail base.

4. A rail anchor formed of a single piece of plate metal and comprising a tie-abut ting member, a pair of spaced members projecting upwardly directly from the opp0-' site ends of said tie-abutting member to extend around the opposite side edges of the rail base, and a central member projecting upwardly from said tie-abutting member intermediate of and in an inclined direction with respect to the members of said pair,

the upper horizontal edge of said central member being adapted to engage the base of the rail in a transverse plane farther from the tie than the plane of engagement of said pair of members with the rail base.

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

EUGENE WV. VOGEL.

lVitnesses:

Geo. L. \Vrmrrssox, I'IENRY A. PARKS. 

